Leinster Name Team To Face Dragons

The Leinster team to face the Newport Gwent Dragons in Friday night's RaboDirect PRO12 match at the RDS (kick-off 7.35pm) has been named.

Isa Nacewa, Leinster's Player of the Year in 2010/11, continues in the back-three alongside Fionn Carr and David Kearney for the visit of the Welsh region.

Cillian Willis will partner Ian Madigan at half-back with Ireland Under-20 international Brendan Macken starting at centre alongside Eoin O'Malley in the absence of Luke Fitzgerald.

The pack is unchanged with the Ireland-capped Rhys Ruddock again leading the side and he continues his back-row partnership with Kevin McLaughlin and Dominic Ryan.

Devin Toner locks down with Damian Browne in the second row, with Heinke van der Merwe continuing in the front row alongside Richardt Strauss and Jamie Hagan.

A decision on the final place on the replacements bench will be made closer to kick-off, with Jack O'Connell and new arrival Nathan White in contention.

Over 14,500 tickets have now been sold for Friday's game and tickets are still on sale online here, from Spar (Donnybrook), the Leinster Rugby Store (Donnybrook) as well as Ticketmaster outlets nationwide. They will also be available to purchase on the gate on Friday.

Meanwhile, Leinster Rugby are hosting a Club Open Day throughout the province this Sunday.

In conjunction with Ireland's first match of the Rugby World Cup and on foot of Leinster's success in the Heineken Cup, a number of clubs have already come together to hold a co-ordinated 'Open Day'.

The purpose of the day is to introduce the club and social side of the sport to people who may not have played rugby before and encourage club participation.

The day itself will be focused on a welcome for visitors both new and old with the format down to individual clubs.

The events will vary from club to club but will range from Tag rugby to minis, youths, junior and veteran players and volunteers' participation. Visit www.leinsterrugby.ie for further information.

The countdown is on to the Women's Sevens Dublin tournament in UCD on August 22-23. Anthony Eddy, IRFU Director of Rugby Sevens & Women's Rugby, previews what promises to be an exciting couple of days.

Tickets for the tournament start at 5 euro, with children free, and are available to buy here - http://www.ticketmaster.ie/Womens-Sevens-Series-tickets/artist/2134381?tm_link=artist_artistvenue_module.

Jenny Murphy talks about the progress made by the Ireland Women's Sevens team and their pool draw for the upcoming Women's Sevens Dublin tournament in UCD on August 22-23.

Tickets for the tournament start at 5 euro, with children free, and are available to buy here - http://www.ticketmaster.ie/Womens-Sevens-Series-tickets/artist/2134381?tm_link=artist_artistvenue_module.

Conor Murray and Tommy Bowe speak to Irish Rugby TV about their Rugby World Cup preparations and thank the thousands of supporters who came out to see the players at the open training session at the Sportsground.

Ireland captain Paul O'Connell gives his verdict on the team's new Rugby World Cup jersey and talks about his move to French club Toulon. Ireland's RWC 2015 range is available to pre-order now from http://shop.irishrugby.ie.

Anthony Eddy, IRFU Director of Rugby Sevens, talks about the target of a top three finish for both the Ireland Men and Women in Lisbon this weekend, as they continue on their quests for Olympic qualification.

Tom Daly, who recently captained the Ireland Men's Sevens team to the European Division C and B titles, is looking forward to playing in this weekend's Rugby Europe Olympic Repechage tournament in Lisbon, Portugal.

Ireland will host the 'Women's Sevens Dublin' at UCD on Saturday, August 22 and Sunday, August 23. Tournament director Garrett Tubridy and Ireland stars Lucy Mulhall, Jenny Murphy and Louise Galvin speak about their excitement ahead of the World Rugby Women's Sevens Series qualifier.

Coach Allen Clarke and stand-in captain Billy Holland answer questions from the media following Emerging Ireland's 45-12 victory over Georgia in the final round of their successful Tbilisi Cup campaign.

Emerging Ireland coach Allen Clarke speaks about his side's five-try 33-7 win over Uruguay in the Tbilisi Cup and the first half injury to captain Rhys Ruddock. They wrap up the tournament against hosts Georgia on Sunday.

Speaking about the floods that occurred following the Tbilisi Cup's first round, Emerging Ireland team manager Joey Miles said: "A natural event like that, a tragedy like that puts the game of rugby into perspective. We express our regrets to the Georgian people and the Georgian Union for the terrible tragedy that they had."

David O'Reilly from the IRFU Charitable Trust's Corporate Patrons Committee speaks about the new scheme which provides businesses with unique networking opportunities and provides a platform for companies to effectively activate their CSR programmes. For further information, please contact Linda Black of the Charitable Trust - telephone (01) 6473866 or email: linda.black@irfu.ie / http://www.irishrugby.ie/news/34728.php.